Vols take down No. 13 Florida

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Knoxville, TN (Sports Network) - Kenny Hall scored 13 points to lead a
balanced Tennessee attack, as the Volunteers earned their first big win under
Cuonzo Martin with a 67-56 victory over 13th-ranked Florida in the SEC opener
for both schools at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Martin is in his first year at the helm after taking over for the fired Bruce
Pearl and the Vols (8-7, 1-0 SEC) had lost each of their first three games
against ranked opposition this season.

However, Tennessee never trailed in the second half on Saturday and kept
Florida (12-4, 0-1) winless in true road games this season. The Gators are 0-4
in opponents' buildings, including previous losses to Ohio State, Syracuse and
Rutgers.

Trae Golden and Jeronne Maymon each scored 12 points for Tennessee, while
Jordan McRae chipped in 10. The Vols shot 51 percent overall and held Florida
to just 35.7 percent from the field. The Gators entered the contest averaging
an SEC-best 85.4 points this season.

Erik Murphy and Kenny Boynton each finished with 13 points to lead Florida,
which had won two straight since a double-overtime loss at Rutgers on December
29.

Florida cut a four-point deficit at the intermission to a deuce with the first
bucket of the second half, but Tennessee quickly asserted control. Josh
Richardson answered with a three-pointer for the Vols and Cameron Tatum
followed with a steal and a dunk for a 38-31 lead.

Boynton drilled a three moments later for the Gators, but Maymon set up layups
for Renaldo Woolridge and Tatum on consecutive Tennessee possessions to extend
the lead to eight.

Florida hung around over the next few minutes and a three-pointer by Erving
Walker with just over 11 minutes left made it a seven-point difference, but
the Vols scored the next eight. Hall started it with a three-point play and a
three by Tatum with 9:12 remaining gave Tennessee a 58-43 cushion.

The Vols led by as many as 16 down the stretch and Florida got only as close
as nine in the final minute.

Neither team led by more than four in a tight first half. Florida opened a
14-10 edge early, but Tennessee quickly recovered with the next five points.
The Vols took their biggest lead of the half in the closing seconds when
Golden drained a three-pointer for a 33-29 advantage at the break.

Game Notes

Tatum scored nine points for Tennessee...Walker scored eight for Florida and
Patric Young contributed 12 with a team-high seven rebounds in defeat...The
Gators beat the Vols three times last season, winning two games in the regular
season with an additional victory in the SEC Tournament, and had won four
straight overall in the series.